Counting and printing mechanism



June 12, 1945. SCHER v 2,378,250

COUNTING AND PRINTING MECHANISM June 12,1945. L SCHE COUNTING AND PRINTING MECHANISM 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 vFiled May 1l, 1943 INVENTQR. ou/5 5b/se June 12, 1945.l n SCHER COUNTING AND PRINTINGMECHANISM Filed May 11, 1943 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V EN TOR.

14M www W/aww Trae/amy? 'June12, 1945. SCHER Y 2,378,250

COUNTING AND PRINTING MECHANISM Filed May ll, 1943 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. awa .9c/fee June 12, 1945. SCHER 2,378,250

` COUNTING AND PRINTING MECHANISM Filed May 1l, 1943 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN V EN TOR. ou/s .5c/1E@ June 12, 1945. v 1 scHER 2,378,250

COUNTING AND PRINTING MECHANISM Filed May ll, 1943 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 lkllllll--I-llllll #nvm-mmf 7 llllIllllllllllllMIllljIlllIIIIIIIIIIIII,

I N V EN TORT @ws 56h/Ee Patented June 12, 1945 COUNTING AND PRINTING MECHANISM Louis Seher, Shaker Heights, Ohio, assigner to The Tickometer Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Application Mayill, 1943,.v SerlaLNo. 186,497V

7 Claims.

This invention relates to mechanisms-forcount'- ing and printing paper articles such asf coupons, tickets; bank checks and the'like and morev particularly to'an improved mechanism of this kind.

An object ofy thisinventionis to provide an improved mechanism of this character in which a printing means is associated withk the counting means for printing indicia on the individual articles in succession whilethey are being advanced and counted, and in which one such printing operation is carried out for each cycle of operation.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved mechanism of this kind in which the counting and printing means are actuatedl intermittently and such actuation is controlled in response to the forward movement of the articles through the mechanism.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved mechanism` of this character which will operate inA a rapid and highlyv satisfactory 'manner and without repeatedA adjustment even though articles of different sizes are mixedl together in the bundle of articles to be fed.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an improved mechanism of the character referred to wherein the control means which is responsive to the forward movement of the articles isof a novel form enabling the'sameto cooperate eilicientlylwith different' sizes' of articles without causing damage to such articles.

The invention may be further briefly summarized as consisting in certain novel arrangement and combinations of parts hereinafter described and particularly set out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying sheets of drawings,

Fig. 1 is a plan view, with 'portions broken away; of a counting and printing mechanism embodying my invention, the apparatus being viewed as indicated byline I-I of Fig,` 2;

Fig. 10 is a partial vertical sectional View taken on line IU-Iiiof Fig. 1'; n

Fig. 11 isf a partial transverse sectional view taken-on line I I--I Il of Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a sectional detail view taken on line I-2-I2 of Fig. 6 and showing the driving gears for the printing means;

Fig. 13 is a detached edge view gears shown in Fig. 12;

Fig. 1i is a fragmentary View on a larger scale showing the escapement gears and yoke;

Fig. 15 is an end view ofthe type wheel of the printing means;

Fig. 16 is a front or edge view of the type wheel;

Fig. 17 is a sectional view throughy the type wheel taken on line II--II of Fig. 15;

Fig. 18 is a View similar tothat of Fig. 5-but showing' the escapement yoke and stop lever in a different position, andV Fig. 19 is av sectional detail View taken substantially as indicated byline I9--I9 of Fig. 7.

The mechanism herein disclosed is ofthe kind shown in earlier issued U. S. Patents Nos. 1,317,979 and 1,423,333, but embodies certain' improvements over the mechanisms of those patents. To the extent that the present mechanism is similarto said earlier patents, it willfbe described in a general way and the improvement features will be described in greater detail. n

As shown in the drawings the mechanism is provided with a frame I0 having article feeding means II at one end thereof, and article receivof` one of' the ing or stacking meansfi2 at its other end to which the articles are advanced or conveyed by advancing means located between the feeding and stacking stations. AThe frame I'includes upright side membersor 'plates Illa and IUD, in which various shafts of the mechanism are mounted or journaled, and suitably located trans- Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof looking in the direction of the arrow A of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a partial side elevation looking inthe opposite direction as indicated by the arrow B of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view of the apparatus as seen from the article feeding end as indicated by line 4--4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional elevation taken through the mechanism as indicatedI by line. 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a partial plan view of a portion of the mechanism at the location of the printing means, as' indicated by line 6-6 ofl Fig. 2; y

Fig. 7 is a partial longitudinal sectional view taken on line 1-1' of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a partialr vertical sectional view taken on line 8-8 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 9 is a similar sectional view but with a longer' article in the mechanism;

Verse connecting elements, such as the barsy I3 and the inclined plate I4, the latter of which also forms a part of the feeding me-ans II and provides a support or table for. afpack or group of the articles to be fed. The side plate IIlb` also carries a bracket I5 which supports the counting device I6.

The feeding means II` lcomprises feed4 rolls I1 against which the pack of articles to bev fedl is pressed byr a pusher p-late i8. This plate slides on the table Ifll and is actuated by a swinging lever I9 mounted on the pivotshaft 2D and connected with the pusher plate by the link 2I. The spring`22a on the shaft 20 acts to urge the pusher plate I8 toward the feed rolls I'I.v y'The feeding means also includes the vsmaller' starting rolls 22 which serve'r to initiate the downward movement of the topmost article so that its lower edge will be gripped by the larger feed rolls i1 to start the movement of such*y article through the mechanism between the spaced guide plates 23a and 23D.

Associated with the feeding means is a safety device 24 for preventing the feeding of more than one article at a time through the mechanism which might otherwise result in jamming. This safety device includes a shoe 25 adjacent the feed rolls I1 and spaced therefrom a distance to permit the passage of only one of the articles at a time. The shoe 25 is pivotally connected with a lever 26 which is carried by a rock shaft 21. If two or more of the articles stick together and enter the space between the feed rolls I1 and the shoe 25, they will depress the shoe and rock the shaft 21, and this motion transmitted through the lever 21a and pawl 21h will, in turn, swing a latch finger 28 in a direction to release a brake nger 29. The release of the finger' 29 will result in the setting of a brake device 3D which cooperates with a ange 3| on the shaft 32 carrying the feed rolls |1. The setting of the brake device 36 will hold the shaft 32 and the feed rolls I1 against further rotation until the jammed condition has been cleared and the brake device reset. This brake device is similar to the brake device disclosed in said earlier patents and need not be described in greater detail.

The stacking means I2 may comprise an inclined support or bracket 33 connected with the frame I and a movable shoe 34 which is slidable on such bracket. As the articles are delivered to the stacking device I2, they move under the shoe 34 which serves to hold the articles in place while the stack is being formed. Each succeeding article moves into position beneath the previously stacked ones.

During their travel from the feeding means II to the stacking means |2, the articles are advanced by feed rollers or groups of feed rollers designated 35, 36, 31 and 38. If desired, endless belts 39 may be arranged to pass over these rollers so that the articles can be supported continuously during their advance movement, particularly when articles of relatively narrow width are being fed. The rollers 36 and 31 are carried respectively by positively driven shafts 40 and 4| and the rollers 35 and 38 are carried respectively by idler shafts 42 and 43' and are driven from the rollers 36 and 31 by the belts 39. Pressure rollers 44a and 44h carried by a transverse supporting bar 44 cooperate respectively with feed rolls 36 and 31 for pressing the articles against the latter. The rolls 36 are driven at a higher surface speed than the feed rolls I1 and as soon as an article reaches the rolls 36 its forward movement is speeded up relative to the next following article which is still held by the rolls I1. This results in a desired separation or spacing between successive articles.

The mechanism can be driven from any suitable source of power as by means of a belt 45 extending around a pulley 46 mounted on a transverse shaft 41. The shaft 41 carries a gear 48 which meshes with an idler gear 49 and with a gear 50 which is connected with the shaft 32 through a friction clutch The shaft 32 also carries a gear 52 which drives a gear 53 through idler gears 54 and 55, the latter gears being carried by an idler shaft 56. The gear 53 is mounted on and drives the shaft 51 which carries the starting rolls 22. The transverse shafts 40 and 4| on which the rollers 36 and 31 are mounted, respectively, carry gears 58 and 59 which mesh with an idler gear 66. The idler gear 60 is connected with the idler gear 49 by the idler shaft 6| so that the shafts 40 and 4| will be rotated in the same direction while being driven from the shaft 41.

'I'he friction clutch 5| which connects the gear 50 with the shaft 32 provides a slip connection which Will permit the gear 5I) to rotate idly on the shaft 32 during such time as the brake device 30 holds this shaft against rotation.

The forward movement of the articles through the mechanism is utilized to initiate and control the actuation of the counter I6 so that an accurate count of the individual articles will be obtained even though they are moved through the mechanism at a relatively rapid rate. As mentioned above I provide a printing means 62 in the present mechanism which is associated with the counting means so that the operation of both the counting means and the printing means will be controlled by the forward movement of the individual articles.

In the accomplishment of this control function, I provide an escapement mechanism 63 having a rotary trip device 64 associated therewith. The escapement mechanism includes escapement gears 65 and 66 of which the gear 66 has two diametrically opposed flats or blank spots 66a and is of the form known as a mutilated gear. The gear 65 is a continuously driven gear but the mutilated gear 66 is driven intermittently as will be presently explained. The gear 65 is mounted on a shaft 61 of which the inner end is carried by a pivoted arm 68. A spring 69 acts on the arm 66 and urges the latter in a direction tending to shift the gear 65 toward the gear 66. The shaft 61 extends through the side plate I0b and its outer end carries a pinion 61a which meshes with a gear 41a carried by Y the continuously driven shaft 41.

The mutilated gear 66 is carried by an escapement shaft 10 which extends through the side plate I0b of the frame and carries a pinion 1I which meshes with and drives the gear 12 of the counter I6. The inner end of the shaft 16 also carries a cam 13 which is connected with the mutilated gear 66 and has diametrically opposed cam fingers 14. The escapement mechanism also includes a short rock shaft 15 which carries an escapement yoke 16 and a stop lever 11. The escapement yoke 16 straddles the cam 13 and has arms 16a and 16h which cooperate with the cam fingers 14. The escapement yoke 16 is oscillated by the cam 13 and at the same time controls the rotation of this cam so that the shaft 10 will be intermittently rotated one-half revolution at a time by motion imparted to the mutilated gear 66 from the continuously rotating gear 65. This intermittent rotation of the shaft 1I] through a half revolution at a time causes the counter I6 to be positively driven so that each half revolution of the shaft 10 increases the reading of the counter by one number. This cooperation of the escapement yoke 16 with the cam 13 also causes actuation of the stop lever 11 for controlling the intermittent actuation of the printing means 62, as will be presently explained more in detail.

The rotary trip device B4 which, as mentioned above, is carried by the same shaft (shaft 10) that carries the mutilated gear 66 and the cam 13, is provided with trip fingers which extend into the path of forward movement of the articles being advanced and are adapted to be engaged in succession by the leading edges of the successively fed articles. Upon engagement of an article with-one of the trip iingers 80, the .article causes rotation to be imparted to the shaft which shifts the mutilated gear 66 enough to move one of the blank spots 66a thereof out of a position of tangency with the gear 65 and to thereby bring one or more of the teeth of the mutilated gear into mesh with the teeth of the gear 65 (see Fig. 18). The gear 66 is thereupon rotated through a half revolution by the gear 65 to bring the other blank spot into a position of tangency with the gear 85, whereupon the gear 'again comes to rest.

-Each time that the gear 66 is thus rotated through a half revolution, the kcam 13 is also rotated for a half` revolution and imparts a rocking oscillation to the yoke 16. This oscillation of the yoke causesthe latch lever 11 to .be lifted to rrelease the stop cam 91 of the printing means. The operation of the mechanism is such that the article, which actuates one of the trip fingers 9G to bring about actuation of the counter I8 and oscillation of the escapement yoke 16, will arrive at the printing means 62 .in timed relation to the release thereof by the stop lever 11 so that the article which has initiated a cycle of operationof the printing means will have indicia printed thereon during that cycle.

The present mechanism embodies an improved construction for the trip lingers 80 and a guard 8l which enable the mechanism to successfully handle articles of varying width `without jamming and without damage to the articles even though such articles are mixed together in the same pack. The guard 8l comprises a plate or strip which is hinged on a pivot pin 82 and over which the articles Apass during their advance movement. The guard 8l extends in the direction of the forward movement of the articles and its free end is located above and adjacent the trip device 68 (see Figs. 8 and 9) The trip fingers 80 are carried by a plate or bar 8 3 which `is mounted on the shaft 10 and each trip ringer is supported at an intermediate point thereof by a pivot 84. The inner ends of the trip fingers' 89 lie on opposite sides of the shaft lil and are yieidingly drawn toward each other by a tension` spring 85 connected therewith. The outer ends of the fingers 80` engage the' under side ci the guard 8l in succession during the intermittent rotation oi the shaft 10. When relatively narrow articles T1 are being fed, as shown in Fig. 8, the guard 8| is relatively ineiective and readily swings upwardly to permit the lingers 88 to move past the same to a position for engagement-by the successively fed articles. When relatively wide articles T2 are being led, as shown in Fig. 9, the article which is passing-the trip station overlies the guard 8| which then prevents the finger 89 from moving to the article-engaging position until the trailing edge of the article T2 has traveled past the guard. While the trip finger remains under the guard it is vprevented from contacting the moving article. This is desirable because imperfections or irregularities of the article might otherwise strike the trip ringer and cause premature actuation of the escapement mechanism. The use of the guard 8| and the yieldably mounted trip fingers t9, enable the mechanism to successfully handle different widths of articles even though they are intermixed and the need for any adjustments in the mechanism to accommodate the same to such diiierent widths of articles.

In addition to the pinion 1l the outer end of the shaft 10 carries a collar 19a having diametri- Lif) `ly rotating shaft 4l.

cally opposed notches Ilb in which a detent 10c engages. The cooperation of the detent 10c with the collar 10a holds the shaft 10 against backward rotation which would prevent proper functioning of the escapement mechanism. Such backward rotation of the shaft 10 might be caused vby one of the cam lingers 13 rebounding away from the stop arm 16a of the escapement yoke 16 or by the spring `85 of the rotary trip device reacting againstthe guard 8i.

One side of the .notches 10b is relatively inclined so as to cause the detent to be readily lifted when the shaft 10 is rotated in its forward direction.

The .printing means 62 includes a platen roller 88 mounted on the shaft 4l, and a type wheel 89 cooperating therewith. The wheel 89 carries type or other indicia elements 9U, and one or more blank elements or spacers Sta which are lower in height than the elements `90. The type wheel is carried by a shaft 9| which is journaled in an arm 92 of a bracket or body 93 which can be suitably attached to the transverse supporting bar 44. The body 93 supports the type wheel 89 with the plain portion of the surface thereof, which is formed by the spacers a., spaced slightly from the periphery of the platen 88 so that the latter can rotate out of contact with the surface of the type wheel until a printing operation has been initiated. As shown in the drawings, the tops of the indicia elements 98 extend somewhat above the periphery or plain portion of the type wheel and, when the type wheel has been rotated a predeterminedextent to initiate the printing operation, one end of the series of indicia elements comes into contact with the periphery ofthe platen 88 and thereupon the type wheel will be driven by the frictional engagement of the indicia elements with the platen. As the article which has tripped the escapement mechanism to thus initiate the counting and printing operations, passes between the type wheelr 89 and the platen 88 the indicia represented by the elements 90 will be printed thereon.

The shaft 9| of the printing device also carries a gear 9B and a stop cam 91. The gear 96 meshes with a driving gear 98 carried by the continuous- The gear 98 is not keyed to the shaft 4I. but is connected therewith through friction clutch means 99 which will permit the gear .98 to remain stationary when the stop cam 91 is held against rotation by the stop lever 11. When this stop lever is lifted by the escapement yoke 16 so as to release the cam 91 (seeFig. 1S), the gear 98 rotates with the shaft llll and drives the type wheel-through thev gear 96 and the shaft 9i. The gear 9B imparts initial rotation to the type wheel to cause the abovementioned frictional engagement of the indicia elements 90 with the platen 88 to take place. The gear 98 assists in driving the type wheel during such frictional engagement of the indicia elements with the platen 88 and thereafter continues to rotate the type Wheel to the extent permitted by the stop lever 11 and thereby returns the type wheel to its starting position. Immediately after the cam 91 has been released by the stop lever 11, as just explained, the arm 16h of the yoke 16 is disengaged by the cam finger 14. The stop lever 11 then rides on the top of the stop cam -91 but as soon as the cam passes the stop lever the latter will be pulled down by the spring |00 to a position in which it will be reengaged by the cam 91 and the type wheel will thereby be prevented from making more than one revolution per cycle of operation.

The printing means 62 may also include an inking roller which is supported above the type Wheel by an arm |02 so that the roller will contact the indicia elements and supply ink thereto. The pressure of the inking roller on the type Wheel can be varied by means of a screw |03 having its grooved inner end anchored by the pin |04 and which screw has thread engagement with the arm |02 and can be rotated to swing the arm toward or away from the type Wheel. A spring-pressed friction element |05 (see Fig. 19) made of leather or other suitable material, serves to hold the screw |03 against accidental turning.

As shown in Fig. 4, the shaft 32 can be provided with an extension on which a hand Wheel or knob |06 is mounted. Whenever two or more articles simultaneously enter the space between the feed rolls and the shoe the brake device is tripped and locks the shaft 32 against rotation, as previously explained, While other portions of the mechanism continue to run. To release the jammed articles it is necessary to rotate the feed rolls in a reverse direction and it is for this purpose that the knob |06 is provided.

Although the printing means 62 is described as a part of the general mechanism, such printing means can be readily detached andthemechanism operated successfully as an article counting means.

From the foregoing description and accompanying drawings it will now be readily understood that I have provided an improved mechanism for counting and printing coupons, tickets, bank checks or other paper articles in a rapid and satisfactory manner.

While I have illustrated and described my improved mechanism in considerable detail, I desire it to be understood that I do not wish to be correspondingly limited but regard my invention as including all modifications and variations coming within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

i. In a machine of the character described, means for advancing coupons or the like in succession through the machine, a continuously driven toothed rotary member, a device adapted to be intermittently driven for the performance of a desired function in connection with said coupons, means for driving said device including a rotary member having interrupted teeth for intermittently connecting such second rotary member with the first rotary member, and a spring biased finger` pivotally carried by the second rotary member and adapted to be engaged by the coupons being advanced for controlling the connection between the first and second rotary members.

2. In a machine of the character described, means for advancing coupons or the like in succession through the machine, a continuously driven rotary member, a device adapted to be intermittently driven for the performance of a desired function in connection with said coupons, means for driving said device including a rotary member having means for intermittently connecting such second rotary member so as to be driven by the first rotary member, trip means yieldably carried by the second rotary member and adapted to be engaged by the coupons being advanced for controlling the connection between the first and second rotary members, and means preventing said trip means from moving to a coupon-engaging position until the preceding coupon has been advanced a predetermined extent.

3. In a machine of the character described, means for advancing coupons or the like in succession through the machine, a device adapted to be intermittently driven for the performance of a desired function in connection with said coupons while they are being advanced, means for driving said device intermittently, rotary trip means controlling the intermittent actuation of said device and having yieldably mounted fingers thereon adapted to be engaged in succession by the leading edges of the successively fed coupons, and a guard over which said coupons move and which is located relative to said rotary trip means so asto prevent movement of said fingers to a coupon-engaging position until the preceding coupon has been advanced beyond the guard.

4. In a feeding mechanism for a machine of the character described, means for advancing coupons or the like in succession, a guard over which said coupons travel, and a rotary trip device having a yieldable finger thereon for cooperation with the successive coupons being advanced and engageable with the underside of said guard, the length of said guard and its location lwith respect to the path of travel of said finger being such as to prevent the finger from moving to a position to be engaged by one coupon until the preceding coupon has advanced beyond the guard.

5. In a feeding mechanism for a machine of the character described, means for advancing coupons or the like in succession, a pivoted guard over which said coupons travel in a direction from the pivot toward the free end thereof, and a rotary trip device having a yieldable finger thereon engageable with the underside of the guard and adapted to be released by said free end for movement to a coupon-engaging position.

6. In a feeding mechanism for a machine of the character described, means for advancing coupons or the like in succession, a movable guard over which said coupons travel, and a rotary trip device having outwardly extending pivoted fingers thereon successively engageable with the underside of said guard and adapted to be released thereby for movement to a couponengaging position, said trip device having a stop thereon and the inner ends of said fingers being yieldingiy held against said stop by a tension spring.

7. In a machine of the character described, means for advancing coupons or the like in succession through the machine, a continuously driven rotary member, a register, a second rotary member adapted to actuate said register and having means for intermittently connecting such second rotary member so as to be driven by the first rotary member, trip means yieldably carried by the second rotary member and adapted to be engaged by the coupons being advanced for controlling the connection between the first and second rotary members, and means preventing said trip means from moving to a coupon-engaging position until the preceding coupon has been advanced a predetermined extent.

LOUIS SCHER. 

